WASHINGTON — On Tuesday, U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.), a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, announced that he included several Sudanese grassroots organizations among a slate of nominees for the Nobel Peace Prize during a hearing about the Biden administration’s strategy for addressing the political crisis in Sudan.

Among the people and organizations that Senator Coons has nominated for the Peace Prize are the Sudan Resistance Committees and Central Committee of Sudan Doctors, groups that have played a pivotal role in Sudan’s peaceful revolution and pro-democracy protests in response to the October 25 military coup that has brought Sudan’s nearly three-year transition out of dictatorship and towards democracy to a halt.

Citing his continued work to support Sudan’s transition to democracy, Senator Coons said at the hearing that “We've made a significant down payment on a democratic future for Sudan, but I'm gravely concerned that this transition is badly off track, and without active diplomatic engagement and some strong and decisive action by the United States, this transition may effectively be dead. To live up to the commitments that we've made to the Sudanese people to support their aspirations, we have to take a greater leadership role.”

Senator Coons continued, “I've just submitted a nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize for Sudan's Resistance Committees and the Central Committee of Sudan Doctors. I hope you will work to make sure that they are at the center of any political process.”

Full audio and video available here. A transcript is provided below.

Sen. Coons: Thank you Chairman Menendez, Ranking Member Risch. And Chairman Menendez, thank you for convening this hearing and for ensuring that Sudan remains high on this committee's agenda at this critical time to see a full committee hearing on the ongoing crisis in Sudan, with robust participation from Democrats and Republicans is genuinely encouraging. Assistant Secretary Phee, it’s great to see you again. Thank you for your service and your focus on this critical issue, and Deputy Administrator Coleman, good to see you as well. I've worked hard over recent years to support Sudan's peaceful revolution, the inspiring civilian-led nationwide uprising that as one of the most successful grassroots pro-democracy movements in recent years, actually overthrew a brutal dictator, who had repressed the people of Sudan for decades and committed genocide. We've worked hard on the appropriation of over a billion dollars in both economic aid and as my friend and colleague, Senator Van Hollen was just referencing, important debt relief to help support a transition to civilian government. We've made a significant down payment on a democratic future for Sudan, but I'm gravely concerned that this transition is badly off track, and without active diplomatic engagement and some strong and decisive action by the United States, this transition may effectively be dead. To live up to the commitments that we've made to the Sudanese people to support their aspirations, we have to take a greater leadership role, and I'm grateful for the steps you've been taking Madam Assistant Secretary. As a number of my colleagues have asked, a lack of accountability for atrocities committed in Darfur and throughout Sudan, the killing of protesters in recent years, and the recent coup, all of this has established a pattern of impunity for military leaders who kill and harm unarmed civilians and peaceful protesters. We've seen that continued in recent weeks. As the military has systematically arrested and even assassinated some of the most effective community organizers and obstructed injured protesters from getting needed medical care. I've introduced the Sudan Democracy Act to sanction those involved in these activities, and others who undermine democracy and human rights and the networks that sustain them. The administration has publicly stated they'll hold military authorities responsible. What does this mean in practice? How will you hold them accountable? And what does your previous comment that the security forces are not monolithic mean for a path forward, where we could somehow secure a transition to a wholly civilian government?

Assistant Secretary Phee: Thank you, Senator. First of all, for your engagement and involvement in this important issue, and for your assessment of the challenges that we face. I do believe I said to the Chairman, this hearing is a terrific way to reinforce the administration's diplomacy and signal to all the parties of Sudan that we are with the civilians, we are with this transition, and it needs to move forward if they want to have any kind of partnership with us. And so that's been basically the bottom line, how we implement it. We've talked to Senator Coons about using authorities that exist. We've talked about developing new authorities, and we've talked – we’re working very hard right now at nontraditional methods of pressure, particularly in terms of, for example, the illicit gold mining that takes place, and we're also looking at the many enterprises that are owned by security forces. So, there's a lot of active effort underway to augment the already significant pressure that we've discussed, from the suspension of both debt relief and bilateral and multilateral assistance.

Sen. Coons: Well, as the Chairman mentioned, if you need additional authorities, please do communicate that to this committee. I'm concerned the military will simply organize elections that are sham elections in 2023 that they'll use to legitimize their role next year. How are we working with our regional partners, our allies, and relevant Sudanese stakeholders to prevent that outcome, which thousands and thousands of civilians have taken to the streets to prevent and that they've consistently spoken out against and rejected.

Assistant Secretary Phee: That's a valid concern. However, the military leaders have claimed that they want international support for those elections. If we want to be in a position to provide that support, and of course, that would be geared towards credible and transparent elections. And also the Sudanese people, as we've seen, I'm confident would not participate in any sort of Potemkin type election. We talked earlier, Senator Coons, and I think it's worth emphasizing about the importance of making clear, particularly to our Arab partners and Israel who engage in Sudan, that the prospect of security from a military-led government is not a true reality. It cannot – that cannot work, Sudan's history shows that. The fact that the security forces are split is not necessarily a positive situation, but it does mean that they, like the civilians, because there are fractures and fissures, may be unwilling collectively, to do it as severe repression and a severe crackdown. That's what we've been trying to say to them. Don't go that path. Don't be the leaders that lost Sudan. Be the leaders that affected this transition. So it's a tricky balance, frankly.

Sen. Coons: Well, there's a number of us who look forward to working with you on that. I've just submitted a nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize for Sudan's Resistance Committees and the Central Committee of Sudan Doctors. I hope you will work to make sure that they are at the center of any political process. I look forward, Deputy Administrator Coleman, to hearing an update about how the administration is planning to leverage the $700 million in frozen funds, and I hope that we will consult in advance as you craft the broader framework for the U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit later this year. With that, Mr. Chairman, thank you.

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